Tag Archives: Water Rights Protection Act

The U.S. Forest Service has officially withdrawn its proposed Groundwater Management Directive, an initiative highly criticized as an attempt by the federal government to control and regulate all bodies of water in the U.S. The directive would have caused major problems for farmers and ranchers, as it would have included Continue reading →

Colorado Senator Cory Gardner and Representative Scott Tipton have spoken out against the EPA’s new “Waters of the United States” rule. The rule expands the EPA’s reach to include any body of water in the U.S. Rivers and streams, agricultural reservoirs, ponds, ditches, and more are now under the protection Continue reading →

As promised, yesterday, Congressman Scott Tipton teamed with Wyoming Senator John Barrasso to reintroduce legislation to protect water users from uncompensated federal takings of privately-held water rights. The Water Rights Protection Act (WRPA), which passed the House in the 113th Congress with bipartisan support, Continue reading →

Congressman Scott Tipton stressed the need for a permanent legislative solution to protect private water rights from federal takings and interference, following yesterday’s comments by U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that the agency is, for the time being, backing off Continue reading →

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation co-sponsored by Congressmen Scott Tipton and Cory Gardner to protect water rights by prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers from moving forward with its controversial ‘Waters of the U.S.’ rule. Continue reading →

Congressman Scott Tipton will participate in a Natural Resources Subcommittee hearing this morning titled “New Federal Schemes to Soak Up Water Authority: Impacts on States, Water Users, Recreation, and Jobs”. Tipton will likely focus his questions on the Forest Service Groundwater Directive, the ski area water rights permit condition and how they impact Continue reading →

Yesterday, Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) stressed that the Forest Service’s newly proposed Directive on Groundwater Resource Management includes overly broad language that will expand the agency’s regulatory reach over groundwater and jeopardize privately-held water rights. The directive is strikingly similar in function and tone to the recent Continue reading →